The controller, Cypress adds, offers a high level of integration that minimises bill-of-material costs and simplifies designs, replacing multiple discrete components with a single-chip solution.

The EZ-PD CCG3 controller supports direct 3.3-V to 20-V operation. It integrates independent 20-V VBUS gate drivers for provider and consumer power paths, two 1-W VCONN FETs that provide power to USB-C cables, and a USB Billboard Controller that informs the USB host of supported Alternate Modes and failures. 20-V operation is enabled by the integration of a high-voltage regulator and analogue blocks that protect systems against overvoltage and overcurrent conditions. The CCG3 controller includes an ARM Cortex-M0 processor, two 64 kB flash memory banks with read-while-write operation and an integrated Crypto Engine for fail-safe firmware updates with authentication. CCG3 also incorporates an analogue switch for non-USB signals, such as DisplayPort control signals, along with four serial communication blocks, each of which can be configured to I ²C, SPI or UART serial protocols.

“USB-C and PD specifications [are] continually evolving and the next-generation PD 3.0 standard [is] scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2016... customers continue to seek reduced system complexity and lower solution cost,” said Ajay Srikrishna, vice president of the USB product line at Cypress, adding, “Cypress’s programmable EZ-PD controllers enable our customers to easily implement updates to keep up with these changes.”